Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Ajax

My phone lights up, the security alarm screaming. I snatch it off the workbench and pull up the cameras.

Someone’s on my property. Not for fucking long.

I grab the landline and dial for the main house. No answer. My anxiety kicks up a notch. Lulu is alone and at home with Mary.

The figure sneaks through the trees, avoiding the cameras that run along the dirt road leading to the house. I look around my work shed. There’s only one thing to do.

Go hunting.

Excitement and trepidation course through me like a life force pushing me to run quicker.

Terror pumps in my blood. After everything we went through to get Lulu to willingly stay, after everything that I did, I’m not losing her now.

No one is taking my family.

Jumping, I grab a thick branch and pull myself onto higher ground. I’m to the left of my house, next to the shed we use as a garage. I have a direct line of sight to my intruder.

I eye the tree line behind the intruder, but everything remains calm. No one else is here.

The weight of my bow comforts me as I ready the arrow. The world falls away when I have my prey in my crosshairs.

Three, two, one.

The arrow whizzes through the air, puncturing the target through the right shoulder. The force of it makes them fly back into the dirt driveway. A pained cry echoes out.

The fact that the threat is neutralized doesn’t calm me. What the fuck is she doing at my house?

I jump down from my perch and check my camera. She’s alone.

“Agent Collins,” I greet, stopping by her feet.

Lulu chooses that moment to rush out of the house. “What was that scream?”

“Nothing to worry about,” I reassure my wife.

She runs closer, gasping at the sight on our drive. “Oh my God. Ajax!” she cries, panicked.

“It’s fine,” I promise, stopping her advance with one hand on her back and the other on her belly.

Agent Collins laughs, the sound gurgling as blood dribbles out the side of her mouth. “You’re both going to jail, and that kid of yours is going into care,” she pants.

Lulu covers her mouth, and horrified eyes find mine.

“Over my dead body,” I swear. Keeping my eyes on Lulu, I press my boot down on Collins’s knee, forcing it to the side until I hear a satisfying crunch.

She’s not laughing now. The agent sobs, trying to reach for her knee, but it only tears at her shoulder that’s pinned to the ground.

“Ignore her. Baby, go inside. Open all of the windows on the ground floor. I’ll walk around the outside and close the shutters. Just like we practiced.” I close the space between us to nuzzle my nose against hers.

“Should I lock the shutters?” she whispers.

“No, I’ll come in after they’re closed and secure the windows and doors.”

“Backup’s on the way,” Collins hisses.

“No, it’s not,” I tell Lulu, not letting her look away. “Agent Collins arrived alone; she walked up through the trees. She didn’t want to be seen and not just by us. You, Agent Collins”—I turn to address her—“are what they call eager to climb the ladder. No one is coming because you wanted the collar yourself,” I taunt, nodding to where her gun lays. “No one knows you’re here.” I smirk.

The truth is written all over her face.

“Go inside. ”

Lulu sniffles, backing up.

“Well, let’s get you settled before I secure the house, shall we?”

I take hold of the arrow in her shoulder with both hands and tear it out of her.

There it is. I tilt my head back and enjoy her pleas. No amount of begging will stop what is coming, but she can try.

I give her my back and grab her feet. Slowly, I pull her across the ground, leaving a trail of blood to deal with later.

“How did you find me?” I ask, pulling the rope down from the rafter.

“A guy in Cromwell that used to be a cop said he thought Lulu was dead like the others. The I-90 killer has been quiet lately, so I made a few calls. Turns out a marriage license was issued to a Lulu Clarke fourteen months ago, but I had to be sure,” she groans out.

“Of course you did. Where is your car?”

I step forward and press my boot against her damaged knee. Her scream rings out, causing pleasure to coil in my lower stomach.

God, I’ve missed this. We don’t travel nearly as much, and when we do, I keep my hunts hidden, buried in shallow graves off the I-90. Except for the odd few, I smirk.

“Just off the property!” she calls out. “There’s a small road that leads to nothing but trees. I drove it in there so that you wouldn’t see it,” she sobs .

Hmmm, seems we need a few more cameras along the property line.

“Please, please,” she begs.

Gagged and bound, I leave Collins in my workshop. The fun comes later. First, I need to protect my family.

I rush around the building, closing the shutters on every window. My cock grows harder with each shutter I close, one more second closer to a new hunt.

The inside of the house is silent, something that would normally worry me, but today it only means one thing . . . my family is in the playroom. The very soundproof and windowless playroom.

The padlocks are waiting for me on each windowsill.

Lulu did good.

I secure each shutter with a lock and then close and lock the window. No one is getting inside this house.

I crack the playroom door open, smiling at the sight that greets me. Mary is sitting at her small piano, playing a song for her brother. Lulu gives a half-hearted smile before settling Jaxson down in his crib.

“Ajax . . .”

“Shh,” I stop her, leading her into the hallway.

“Are we safe?” she whispers when the door is closed.

“Very.” I take her hand and lead her to the kitchen. “I’ll fix this, but no one else is coming. Except me. I can’t wait until after. ”

My wife blushes at my words, even after all this time.

“Bend over the table and lift your dress. This is going to be quick and rough. I’ll make it up to you later.”

I shove my pants down, freeing my cock. “Brace yourself,” I warn.

When I thrust forward, we cry out as I sink into her warmth. My mind falls blank as I chase my high, knowing I have another coming soon after. The anticipation of a hunt only pushes me higher. Pleasure zips up my spine, reminding me that the thrill of a kill won’t beat this. Having Lulu here, knowing that she’s mine will always be the biggest high that I have chased.

One that I get the pleasure of reliving every day.

My soul settles. I have everything I could ever want. My wife, my family, and a terrified prey waiting to be hunted and caught.

My life couldn’t get any better, and it’s all because of Lulu.

My wife, my love, my world.

Lulu

“Happy birthday to Piglet, happy birthday to youuu,” we all sing out. Walking past the balloon arch, I place Prue on her play mat. The six-month-old kicks her legs, more than happy to be away from the noise.

“Your daddy and I got you an extra gift,” I call over with a grin while my husband sneaks out of the kitchen.

“I want cake,” William moans when I pass him.

“When your sister’s ready,” I tell him.

“But I’m hungry now,” the eight-year-old complains.

I pass him an apple off the wooden side and smirk when he curls his lip. “That’s what I thought. Sadie, you guard that cake from your twin, please,” I tease with a raised brow at my son.

Rounding the table, I hug my oldest baby. “Happy birthday, Piglet,” I say again.

“Thank you, Mom.”

We stand in a tight hug until Ajax comes back. The gift makes the other kids gasp, and our oldest son laughs.

“Happy birthday, Piglet,” Ajax says, his voice thick with emotion.

The baby pig wiggles in his arms, letting out a squeal.

Mary Lou stands still, her eyes growing bigger and bigger. “You got me a piglet.” She’s shaking, tears break free as she rushes forward to hold her new baby.

“He won’t grow very big, but you’re fully in charge of him. Food, cuddles, and poop.” Ajax grins. “ Maybe you can use him as a test run for being a pig farmer.”

“What are you going to name him?” I ask, rubbing her back.

“Babe,” she sniffles, laughing.

“How are you going to kill him when you love him so much already?” Jax asks.

Mary gasps, covering Babe’s ears. “No one’s killing my child. Daddy, tell him!”

“That’s what happens on pig farms. You sell them for meat.” He shrugs.

“Jaxson,” Ajax warns.

“I’m not saying it to be mean,” he says, looking around at us. “Dad and I can help with that bit. Or,” he stresses, seeing his sister is still upset, “you could have a farm full of lots and lots of fat pigs until they die of old age.”

“Old age.” Mary nods, patting Babe’s head. “Kiss him,” she demands to her brother, holding the piglet out. “Twenty-one times, for my birthday.”

My son breathes in deep, his nostrils flaring. “He gets one, and I won’t mention offing him again.”

“Deal.” Mary Lou grins.

Ajax claps him on the back. “Good boy.”

Mary crouches, letting Sadie and Will pet him.

“Can we get one?” Sadie begs her dad.

“We have two dogs, four cats, six ducks, two horses, and now a pig. No, you cannot have another pet.” Ajax laughs, wrapping his arm around my waist.

“Until one of them dies,” Jax tries .

“Until one of them dies,” his dad agrees, but adds, “of old age.” Looking between the other kids.

“Can we show Prue?” Sadie asks her sister.

“Of course.” Mary nods, heading over to the baby. Her siblings follow her like they have since the day they were born.

My heart melts.

“I want another one,” I whisper.

“You know I won’t say no, but after the trouble we had getting pregnant with Prue . . .” Ajax pauses.

“I know.” The corner of my mouth lifts. “But we’ll try?”

“We’ll try,” he promises, kissing the side of my head. “Do you think Mary will stay forever if I build her a little farm for her pigs on the land?” Ajax whispers, leaning in.

I pinch my lips to stop from laughing. “At least until she’s thirty and needs more room for her pigs.” I nod, encouraging him.

“Thank you,” my husband says, pulling me close.

“For what?” I frown.

“For giving us what Mary and I needed.”

I blink at his words. My fingers reach up to comb through his gray-streaked hair, “Well, it was only fair,” I choke out, “you gave me the family I wanted.”

I push up onto my toes, pressing my mouth to his. The kids talk loudly, and an argument over cake breaks out. I thumb my wedding band, and the inscription on the inside makes me smile into Ajax’s mouth .

Forever.

Sixteen years ago, this man swore to never let me go. He failed to mention that he’d make my life worth living.

Ajax Whitler is a killer, a monster, an amazing father, and the only man I’ve ever loved.

Being taken was the best thing that ever happened to me.

The End